We can't find the internet
Attempting to reconnect
Something went wrong!
Hang in there while we get back on track
Impacts of Environmental Change and Microplastic Pollution on Zooplankton
AI summary Read the abstract
This review examined how environmental changes including warming, ocean acidification, and microplastic pollution are affecting zooplankton communities, covering effects on physiology, behavior, reproduction, and population dynamics. Combined stressors were found to have greater impacts than any single factor.
Zooplankton are an important part of the ecosystem, carrying out the function of energy transfer in the food web, linking the lower to the higher trophic levels of species. They are often under the combined influence of the surrounding environment and other aquatic life. This research aims to study the effects of environmental changes, such as changes in the several properties of seawater, microplastic pollution on zooplankton populations and the interactions between other aquatic organisms and zooplankton. The results show that with environmental changes, the increase in sea temperature, pH value, eutrophication of seawater and the increase of microplastic pollution will harm the zooplankton population. At the same time, the size of zooplankton populations can affect the number of fish that feed on them, and the predation of fish can also affect their biomass and population structure. These studies can help humans better understand the mechanisms of ecosystem interactions in nature, assess and predict broader environmental change, maintain healthy ecosystems, and ensure future resource sustainability.
More Papers Like This
Impacts of Microplastics on Zooplankton
AI summary Read the abstract
This review examines the impacts of microplastics on zooplankton communities, covering how microplastic ingestion and physicochemical alterations of aquatic environments affect zooplankton feeding, reproduction, and community structure. Zooplankton are highlighted as ecologically critical organisms whose disruption can cascade through aquatic food webs.
Life in the Balance: Zooplankton’s Battle in a Changing Environment
AI summary Read the abstract
This review highlights zooplankton as critical but often overlooked components of marine and freshwater ecosystems, examining how they are threatened by stressors including climate change, pollution, and microplastic ingestion.
From Ingestion to Community Changes: The Effects of Nearshore Microplastics on Zooplankton: A Review
AI summary Read the abstract
This review summarizes 15 studies from 2013 to 2023 on how tiny plastic particles affect zooplankton, tiny water-dwelling organisms. Microplastics can look like food, and high concentrations reduced feeding and reproduction in these organisms, with their waste potentially carrying plastics to other animals in the food chain. Effects on broader population changes remain unclear, and more research is needed.
The Impacts of Microplastics on Zooplankton
AI summary Read the abstract
This review examines the growing concern about microplastic impacts on marine and freshwater zooplankton, noting that these tiny organisms can ingest microplastics and are at the base of most aquatic food webs. Plastic ingestion can cause gut blockages, immune responses, energy loss, and reduced reproduction, with potential cascading effects on ecosystems and the species—including fish and humans—that feed on zooplankton.
An assessment of the ecosystem services of marine zooplankton and the key threats to their provision
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers conducted the first comprehensive assessment of the ecosystem services that marine zooplankton provide, including supporting fisheries, carbon cycling, and nutrient transport. They found that stressors such as microplastic pollution, climate change, and overfishing could significantly reduce these services, with downstream effects on food security and human well-being. The study highlights that protecting zooplankton populations is essential for maintaining the broader benefits that healthy oceans provide to society.
Research digests by email
When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.